Why do so many ladies not lift?
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Expatmommy79 wrote: »I'm going to start in Jan... As pp said before.... Trying to eat at a deficit and not getting credit for lifting is a bit hard to swallow... An hour on the treadmill gains me 200-300 calories; whereas lifting for 45 min is uncertain... It's more of a mental block but I'm gonna do it anyway.
The credit you get from lifting may not come in extra food but it does come in smaller clothes and more confidence
I'll let you know if that's true after my first 12 weeks of 5x5
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I've started lifting a couple months ago, what definitely helps is having a set of weights at home so I can lift on my own schedule and not have to travel to a gym.0
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I also think that women may work out at a different time to men?
When I go to the gym after dropping the kids off at school - I have to wait for the other ladies to finish in the powercage before I get a turn. Some lift heavier than me. Others not so heavy. When I go after work - there's more men than women.
When I go at 4am there's 6 of us. Three ladies, three men.0 -
I believe media plays a part as well as woman tend to fixate on a number on a scale. Since we were young we are told about the BMI scale which is a total weight. It doesn't separate muscle from water nor from fat. I believe if women were given a real gauge of fat to muscle ratio they'll all be running to the weights. Lean muscle is sexy not being skinny fat which is what excessive cardio does. I use my scale as a reference but my ultimate method to know if im on track is looking at myself in the mirror checking out those muscles. Plus lean muscle burns more calories meaning I can eat more and I love food.0
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codsterlaing95 wrote: »Am I making a generalization or is this a fact? When I go to my college gym, all I see is the females doing cardio. Do they not realize lifting (of course with diet) is what improves body composition? I see them doing the treadmill for hours on hours, while dudes lift heavy and push themselves with weight lifting. So is just how we are programmed/mankind?
What improves body composition is exercising. Preferably with some resistance aspect in the exercise routine.
Most athletes and most amateur athletes who are consistent in their training, they look good. Not all of them lift. In fact, most of them do not. I have seen swimmers, runners, dancers, people into martial arts, all with great bodies, without really lifting. Not saying that there is something wrong with lifting, I go through lifting phases myself and I am a woman, but it is not the only way to look good. Unless your goal is to become a powerlifter, there is nothing special about lifting that makes it better than other exercise routines.
It all comes down to personal preference for most of us who are exercising for fun or health: if you like what you are doing, awesome, and it will work for you, if not, find something else. For me, I go through phases of lifting for a couple of years, then do something else, then come back to lifting. Lifting for e.g. 20 years non-stop, it is not something I could do, I just find it boring after a while, same as I do with more indoor training routines. I set some goals, reach them, then look for something else.
As for why men lift, to be honest, I think most of them do not. Even many of the ones in the weight room. They start with a weight that is naturally comfortable for them, which would be higher than for the average beginner woman usually, but they are not really challenging themselves. True, most men who are into fitness have lifted at some point, but I know more men who are consistently running or cycling or playing soccer for decades, than men who
are every week in the weight room for years in a row without breaks.
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I'd be interested, but I have absolutely no clue where to start. I use the weight machines when I go to the gym, but using a barbell/weights just seems so foreign to me. I feel like I would need a lesson on proper form. If gyms offered an introduction to weights class, where you learned where to start and how to do sime basic lifts using proper techniques, I'd definitely try it.
Men would benefit from this too. Half the men I see at the gym, especially young ones, I really have to make a point of not looking at them, cause I want to just go over there and start correcting them.0 -
I think that many just don't think about it or know very little about how to start and don't want to stick out by possibly doing something wrong at the gym. Machines are fairly easy to figure out--most have tiny diagrams on them showing what to do. Lifting free weights correctly takes a bit more forethought. I've read several coaches saying that the women they train tend to be very concerned with getting form right. My guess is that's as much for embarrassment prevention as it is for injury prevention.
I also agree it's partly about calorie burning. Many people go to the gym specifically to lose weight and cardio is better known for burning calories than is weightlifting.0 -
More women are at the gym every year it seems. They own all the fitness classes but are getting more into lifting.
It is interesting to see more women lift and work hard at exercises that used to be considers bulking exercises for men, but they still look very fit and feminine, not like men at all.
Maybe they are the best ambassadors for the value of resistance training. Do cardio, so some lifting, and looking great.
Wait a sec... That is my plan too! I guess I workout like a girl then. Ha Ha.
It is great to see myths of lifting fall away, even if it is happening slowly.
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Most comments I get from women who don't lift is that they lack the knowledge and therefore confidence. But some lack the understanding of the benefits too and yes, have misconceptions.
I think the message is starting to get out there. At least in my little world.0 -
My biggest hurdle was not knowing where to start with lifting. Once my husband introduced me to lifting, I haven't looked back.0
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I honestly think from observing some of my friends, that a lot of ladies don't lift because of
a) effort - they would rather hand that off to the men in their lives
b) they are afraid of turning into a red-faced deadlifting monster - that's not even so much about 'bulk' but about the "RAAAHHHHHH" side to what is traditionally masculine.
Women who lift consistently will eventually wake up to the fact that there is more to life than how attractive you are to the opposite sex (or whichever sex is your preference), stop giving a crap about what they look like and start to take on more traditional 'male' roles in everything (my opinion on that is a separate issue) - from earning big money, speaking up at work, demanding equal pay/rights, to carrying heavy items in from the car unaided, holding doors open for other people and so on. Men still tease each other about having wives who "wear the trousers", they are still under pressure to opt for sweet little women (which no one could ever describe me as
) and I KNOW that by choosing to be a red-faced deadlifting monster I am reducing the number of fish in the sea who can look me in the eye without wetting themselves 
I don't really care. But that is a mental state I have fought long and hard for and I don't think some women want to go down that road. 0 -
I honestly think from observing some of my friends, that a lot of ladies don't lift because of
a) effort - they would rather hand that off to the men in their lives
b) they are afraid of turning into a red-faced deadlifting monster - that's not even so much about 'bulk' but about the "RAAAHHHHHH" side to what is traditionally masculine.
Women who lift consistently will eventually wake up to the fact that there is more to life than how attractive you are to the opposite sex (or whichever sex is your preference), stop giving a crap about what they look like and start to take on more traditional 'male' roles in everything (my opinion on that is a separate issue) - from earning big money, speaking up at work, demanding equal pay/rights, to carrying heavy items in from the car unaided, holding doors open for other people and so on. Men still tease each other about having wives who "wear the trousers", they are still under pressure to opt for sweet little women (which no one could ever describe me as ) and I KNOW that by choosing to be a red-faced deadlifting monster I am reducing the number of fish in the sea who can look me in the eye without wetting themselves I don't really care. But that is a mental state I have fought long and hard for and I don't think some women want to go down that road.
Women don't like effort and would prefer their men do that? Okay.0 -
I think it is often because of misinformation:
afraid of bulk (this is still in the media)
or just not knowing it's good for you
or just not knowing how to start
I was lucky. I joined a pretty good gym in 1996 to work out with a friend who was a serious lifter. I hired a trainer right off the bat, and worked out with my friend. I was able to learn a ton and move forward from there.
I do see more women lifting "for reals" than I did in 1996.
But even now, with the media, it's a challenge. I clicked on a tab about the importance of strength training for women and was immediately bombarded with pictures of women in tights with 3Lb weights.0 -
cherrybomb333 wrote: »@codsterlaing95 Speaking strictly from personal experience, it can be tough to find a partner to workout with you. It's easy to find someone to walk or do cardio with, but it's hard to find another female who wants to lift heavy. I like working out with a partner or in a group setting, and I have yet to convince one of my girlfriends to try lifting.
I've had great success lifting heavy in the past, and after some life setbacks, it's my first step to getting back into working out. It's given me the most consistent results and the most confidence in what I'm doing. I just wish more people were willing to give it a shot.
This is actually my reason as well.
If I'm going to the gym I like to have someone to go with, and generally I can find a female friend to run the track and use some machines, otherwise I workout at home.
Also, not knowing where to start is a big issue, I mean, I know what to do, but linking someone to strong lifts 5x5 and then putting that into action at your own gym is different. I honestly don't even know where all the free weight equipment is in my gym. We do have a class that's discounted for uni students for females to learn how to weight lift which I might try next semester (doing yoga and kickboxing classes first) that way I get to learn how to lift in a group setting, maybe find a workout buddy, and actually learn a little more about my gym! But I want to learn how to kick box first - that trumps weight lifting0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Women don't like effort and would prefer their men do that? Okay.
Good job reading past the first two sentences. Well done, gold star.
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Women don't like effort and would prefer their men do that? Okay.
Good job reading past the first two sentences. Well done, gold star.
I read the whole thing. I chose what to comment on. It's a message board.
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
Women don't like effort and would prefer their men do that? Okay.
Good job reading past the first two sentences. Well done, gold star.
I read the whole thing. I chose what to comment on. It's a message board.
No *kitten*. I had no idea!
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I honestly think from observing some of my friends, that a lot of ladies don't lift because of
a) effort - they would rather hand that off to the men in their lives
b) they are afraid of turning into a red-faced deadlifting monster - that's not even so much about 'bulk' but about the "RAAAHHHHHH" side to what is traditionally masculine.
Women who lift consistently will eventually wake up to the fact that there is more to life than how attractive you are to the opposite sex (or whichever sex is your preference), stop giving a crap about what they look like and start to take on more traditional 'male' roles in everything (my opinion on that is a separate issue) - from earning big money, speaking up at work, demanding equal pay/rights, to carrying heavy items in from the car unaided, holding doors open for other people and so on. Men still tease each other about having wives who "wear the trousers", they are still under pressure to opt for sweet little women (which no one could ever describe me as ) and I KNOW that by choosing to be a red-faced deadlifting monster I am reducing the number of fish in the sea who can look me in the eye without wetting themselves I don't really care. But that is a mental state I have fought long and hard for and I don't think some women want to go down that road.
Interesting view. In my experience, it is usually running that people (men AND women) do not want to start because they do not want to put the effort in learning to run and feel discouraged by how slow they need to start. I do not refer to "jogging" at 3km per hour on the treadmill while holding the bars and watching a video, this is equivalent of "lifting" pink 1kg dumbbells.
As for the rest in your post, if the goal is to persuade women to lift, I think you just accomplished the opposite I do not really think btw that the average woman who lifts is a woman who has given up on looking attractive and who has some inferiority complex against men and against attractive women. Your post has an aura of "I am very angry with how I look, can not make people find me attractive so I might as well scare them away". I seriously doubt the average woman (or man) has this mentality when starting to train! Lifting does not make women unattractive or scary. 0 -
I honestly think from observing some of my friends, that a lot of ladies don't lift because of
a) effort - they would rather hand that off to the men in their lives
b) they are afraid of turning into a red-faced deadlifting monster - that's not even so much about 'bulk' but about the "RAAAHHHHHH" side to what is traditionally masculine.
Women who lift consistently will eventually wake up to the fact that there is more to life than how attractive you are to the opposite sex (or whichever sex is your preference), stop giving a crap about what they look like and start to take on more traditional 'male' roles in everything (my opinion on that is a separate issue) - from earning big money, speaking up at work, demanding equal pay/rights, to carrying heavy items in from the car unaided, holding doors open for other people and so on. Men still tease each other about having wives who "wear the trousers", they are still under pressure to opt for sweet little women (which no one could ever describe me as ) and I KNOW that by choosing to be a red-faced deadlifting monster I am reducing the number of fish in the sea who can look me in the eye without wetting themselves I don't really care. But that is a mental state I have fought long and hard for and I don't think some women want to go down that road.
Wow
almost all of that makes me want to belittle you 0 -
I honestly think from observing some of my friends, that a lot of ladies don't lift because of
a) effort - they would rather hand that off to the men in their lives
b) they are afraid of turning into a red-faced deadlifting monster - that's not even so much about 'bulk' but about the "RAAAHHHHHH" side to what is traditionally masculine.
Women who lift consistently will eventually wake up to the fact that there is more to life than how attractive you are to the opposite sex (or whichever sex is your preference), stop giving a crap about what they look like and start to take on more traditional 'male' roles in everything (my opinion on that is a separate issue) - from earning big money, speaking up at work, demanding equal pay/rights, to carrying heavy items in from the car unaided, holding doors open for other people and so on. Men still tease each other about having wives who "wear the trousers", they are still under pressure to opt for sweet little women (which no one could ever describe me as ) and I KNOW that by choosing to be a red-faced deadlifting monster I am reducing the number of fish in the sea who can look me in the eye without wetting themselves I don't really care. But that is a mental state I have fought long and hard for and I don't think some women want to go down that road.
Scintillating. And what if you don't have a man in your life, what happens to your theory then?
More importantly, what did I just read?0
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